Electric-appliance receiving box



M. GUETT.

LECTBIC APPLIANCERECEWING BOX.

APPLICATION FILED ml. e. um.

1 4'1 1 0 Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

I IIIII'I'IIIII a n that shown in Fig. 1.

UNITED. STATE PATENT. OFFICE. I

MONROE GUETT, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HART &

MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HAR CONNECTICUT.

TFORD,- CONNECTICUT, 'A CORPORATION ELECTRIC-APPLIANCE RECEIVING BOX.

Application filed April 6 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that MONROE GUE'r'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartfordand State of Connecticut, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Appliance Receiving Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electric-appliance receiving box. As will be under stood the box may contain any one or more in fact, of electric appliances. As an illustration of one form of article which can be advantageously housed in the box, is an electric switch and its adjuncts such as the fuses if present, the terminals and certain of the connections. I have a number of objects in view among them being the provision of an article of the character set forth which will effectually sustain and permit the proper action of a switch yet which will effectually prevent access to the box when theswitch is in the closed relation yet will permit such access when the switch is in the open condition, means also beingfdesirably provided to permit an attendant to reach the interior of the box when it is necessary initially to connect the parts therein electrically with an exterior source of supply. 1 i The invention is rather broad in character but in. the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification, I

have shown in detail one of the several forms of embodiment of the invention-which will be described in detail in the following description. Obviously I am restricted in no sense to this particular disclosure. I may depart therefrom in a number of respects within the scope of theinvention defined by the claims following said description.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a box involving the invention and showing the cover by lines as closed and certain other relations of the cover bydot and dash lines. 7 Fig. 2'is a somewhat similar view but with the switch actuator inaposition reverse to Fig. 3 is a practically simila'ryiew with the switch actuator in the position shownin Fig. 1 and the dotted lines showing certain shifted relations. V I y Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 11 28, 1922,

} parts throughout the several views.

The box shown may be made of any suitable shape or material. Generally it is of oblong rectangular formation and is formed from sheetlnetal. The one shown comprises a body 2 and although it is shown as having a bot-tom 3, this is not always necessary. As I have already observed the box may on close electrical appliances of variouscharactersbut it is best adapted to receive a switch and in this case the switch mechanism is generally mounted on a block or base as 4 of some suitable insulating material. In theevent that the body 3 be not present in any particular installation, the block orbase 4. or equivalent means would merely be enclosed by the walledportion of the box which in the construction shown is the body there of. As shown the base or block sustains upon its upper side contacts as 5 co-opeia tive with a switching member as 6 which is assumed to be off in Fig. 1 which is the only viewin factin which it appears. Associated with the contacts 5 are wires or conductorstas 7 and with them a rein electrical connection one or more fuses as 8. p

The cover, lid or closure for the box is denoted by 9 and as shown like the body or box, is of sheet metal having along its opposite sides and upper end flanges as 9 to fit the sides and the upper end of the body of the box when the cover is closed. The COVGI is generally made of the same material of which the body and bottom of the box, 15 composed. w i j As represented the cover 9 comprises a lower section as 10 and an upper section as 11 which may be related to each other in various. ways generally flexibly, and hinges as 13 are shown for connecting the two cover sections. As shown the upper section 11 is'slightly longer than the other, and superficially they are collectively of oblong rectangular shape to conform to the charprovided. to hold the cover 9. against acci- Cir dental movement and for this purpose the spring catch 1 1 is shown, the butt thereof: be ing riveted or otherwise suitably united to the upper front wall ot the be): body, the working portion of the latch extending through a slot 15 in the top 9 and having a shoulder 16 to engage over the top of the box above or forward of the slot. By pulling back the upper or tree portion of the latch the shoulder or effective portion 16 will be freed from the lid or cover so that the latter may he swung open if conditions permit this.

I have alluded to a switching member as 6 which is one of a kind suitable for my purposes and which may be housed in the box. To cause the movement of this switching member between on and OH positions a suitable actuator such as 17 is provided. As shown the actuator comprises a body as 18 of suitable shape and which may be of practically segmental term, a handle or grasping portion 19 extending upward from the body. In practice the actuator is supported generally by the bracket or hearing which carries the switching mechanism and which is sustained by the block or base 4. Although the actuator may have any kind of desired movement it is assumed to be piyotally mounted so that it can oscillate or swin It is shown in its two extreme pos1t1ons 1n Figs. 1 and 2 respectively. It is operatlyely connected with the switching mechanism or more properly with the switching member 6 in some convenient way as by links 20. At about the time the dead center position of the actuator is reached, the switching member 6 is snapped to one of its two final positions by spring means as quite common. As shown the cover 9 has a longitudinal slot 21 and through the same the actuator extends in such position that the handle or grasping portion '19 is exteriorly accessible for operating the switch. The ma or portion of the slot 21 is formed in the cover section 10. As shown the cover 9 has'on the section 10 thereof at opposite sides of the slot 21, the flanges or extensions 22 which may consist of practically L-shaped pieces the bases of which are suitably attached to said section 10 at opposite sides of the slot. These cams or flanges 22 co-operate as shown with stud means such as the pin 23 which is driven through the actuator 17 at about the base or butt of the handle 19 thereof and the opposite terminals of which are flattened, the flattened tacos being co-operative with the two cams 22 to lock or hold down part 10 of the cover 9. As shown the cover has associated therewith wings as 24 and which may consist of segmental plates fastened in some convenient way to the under or inner side of the section 11 of the cover. As illustrated the wings or plates 24 have in them segmental slots to receive studs 26 respectively extending from the inner opposite sides of the body 2 of the box, each slot having at one end a lateral otisct or branch 27.

in Fig. 2 the cover 9 is assumed to. be .lLCl-IQLl in its closed relation, the terminal portions of the stud or pin 23 overlying the two cams 22 on the cover and the studs26 being in the otlsets 27. In View of this condition it is clear that the (over 9 is positively and eit'ectually locked in place on the body 2 the studs 23 obviously blocking with positivcncss the lifting of the cover and thus preventing the stud 26 passing around the slot To tree the cover the actuator 17 will be swung hack to the position it is shown as occupying in Fig. 1. This procedure takes the stud or pin 23 from out of engagement with the cams 22 but the cover cannot be released until the studs 26 are out oi? the oilsets 27. To accomplish this it is necessary at this time to slightly lift the cover to cause the studs 26 to leave the oll'- sets by for instance the ele ation of the part 10 of the cover 9 to the dotted position X in Fig. 1. This lifting of the cover section in this manner will cause the studs 26 to rclatiyely pass out of the oilsets 27 and the actuator being in the 0d relation, the upper section 11 of the cover may be easily swung up or to the dotted position Y in said Fig. 1. To close the cover the reverse action will be followed so as to obtain the relation shown for instance in Fig. 2. By lifting the forward section 01 the cover, access may be readily had to the interior of the box for supplying it for instance with a tuseor performing some other desired action. It will of: course be understood that before the upper or larger section 11 oi the cover can be swung up, it will be necessary to more the catch 1 1 to releasing position.

- Access is desirably had tothe lower por tion 01 the boX by bodily raising the cover 9 and I will explain the construction shown by which this is made possible. The cover section 10 is shown as having fastened to the under lower side thereof the shanks of fingers as 28. hese fingers generally consist of some flexible or bendable metal and they are associated with the box body in some proper manner as by projecting them through slots 29 in the bottom or lower end wall of the body near the upper edge thereof and when they are all the way through the slots, bending their free portions so that they can abut or nearly abut against the lower edge of the cover. Before the lower section 10 of the cover can be opened therefore, it is necessary to remove the holding hooks 30 thereof. Either before or after this the actuator 17 will bemoved to open circuit-ed relation and the studs 26 relatively carried out of the otisets 27 in the manner hereinbefore described. This will permit the lifting ot the cover 9 and if the hooks have been bent out will permit the fingers 28 to be taken out of their slots 29 and the resultant elevation of the section 10 as shown for example bv dotted linesZ in Fig. 3.

What I claim is:

1. An electric-app]lance-receiving box comprising a body and a cover, an actuator for switch mechanism in the box, a plate rigid with the cover and having a slot furnished with a lateral offset, a stud on the body of the box, and means on the cover and engageable by the actuator for maintaining the stud in the offset when the actuator isin the on relation and for permitting the stud to leave the offset when the actuator is in the off relation.

2. An electric-applimice-receiving box comprising a body and a cover, an actuator for switch mechanism in the box, a part rigid with the cover and having an arcuate slot furnished with a lateral offset, a stud on the body of the box to enter the slot and its offset, and cam means on the cover engageable by means on the actuator for maintaining the stud in the ofiset when the actuator is in the on relation, and for permitting the stud to leave the offset when the actuator is approximately in the ofi relation.

3. An electric-app]iance-receiving box comprising abody and a cover, an actuator for switch mechanism in the box, extending through the cover, a plate rigid with the cover extending into the body of the box when the cover is on, the plate having a slot furnished with a lateral oil'set, a stud on the body of the box to project into the slot, cam means on the cover, and a pin on the actuator to engage the cam means to maintain the stud in the oifset when the actuator is in the on relation and to permit it to leave the offset when the actuator is in the off relation.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

MONROE GUETT.

In presence of- A. J. BENNETT, CARL F. HAMMON. 

